Baked Sausage Ziti

This is the creamiest Baked Sausage Ziti you’ll ever have! It’s an easy dish that will feed the whole family. Make it ahead of time and bake it before serving. 

Baked Ziti is a great easy alternative to other layered baked pastas, such as Lasagna. It has some of the same components but the tube-shaped pasta gives a different texture. Instead of using ricotta, which most American Baked Ziti or Lasagna has, I’ve used sour cream and cream cheese. Ricotta can give a dry, grainy texture to the dish. The sour cream and cream cheese will give it a silky, creaminess with a little tang. I absolutely recommend using a high-quality mozzarella cheese and shredding it at home. Part-skim or whole milk mozzarella both are good choices. To save on time, I chose to use premade, high-quality spaghetti sauce but you can forsure make your favorite sauce from scratch.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. Ziti
• 1.5 lbs Italian sausage, casings removed
• olive oil
• yellow onion
• garlic
• jarred spaghetti or marinara sauce
• petite diced tomatoes, canned
• cream cheese
• mozzarella
• cream cheese
• Parmigiano-Reggiano
• fresh basil

HOW TO MAKE BAKED SAUSAGE ZITI

• Cook pasta to al dente according to the package instructions.
• While pasta is cooking, in a dutch oven or stock pot brown sausage, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• Add olive oil, onions, and garlic to pot and saute until onions are softened.
• Stir in sauce, tomatoes, and cream cheese, cook until combined.
• Add sausage and cooked, drained pasta.
• Layer half of the sausage-pasta mixture on the bottom of a greased baking dish.

• Spread the sour cream, top with half the mozzarella and half the Parmigiano.
• Top with remaining sausage-pasta mixture, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmigiano.
• Bake for 20 minutes and garnish with fresh chopped basil.

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TO MAKE AHEAD

Baked Sausage Ziti can be assembled and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Baking it from the refrigerator will increase the baking time because it is cold. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and cover dish with foil. Bake for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 10 minutes, or until heated through. 

TO FREEZE

Assemble dish as directed above, do NOT bake, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and then aluminum foil. Avoid putting aluminum foil directly on top of the ziti because it can absorb a foil taste. Baked Sausage Ziti can be frozen for up to 3 months but I recommend only up to 1 month. Defrost it in refrigerator overnight or 24 hours before baking. 

OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT ENJOY

• Boursin Chicken Lasagna
• Chicken Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini
• Roasted Lemon Broccoli